You Can't Do It All Superman
by Mitchell Robert
Summary: The night before reaching Athens, Jason can't sleep and decides to risk the wrath of Buford the table in order to talk to the one who can calm him the most, Piper. Art by Viria: viria. This is my first HoO fic and is just a fluff piece, but let me know what you think!


* JASON *

Jason scrambled to shield his eyes from the oncoming bombardment but within half a second he had found himself coughing violently from the compounds that had been shot at him. As he leaned up in his bed, he brushed off the dust from his face and shoulders and reached for the glass of water on his bedside table. Taking a satisfying gulp, he looked up at the ceiling and scorned. Even when the ship wasn't under attack, the creaking floorboards above his bed would move and drop bits of dust and dirt on his bed. It was annoying but he was never one to complain about the minor things—especially when he had bigger issues to worry about, like the possibly imminent destruction of the world happening in the morning.

With a groan that was almost as loud as the creaking of the Argo II, Jason rubbed his eyes and began to stare at the tiny flickering flame of the candle. If he had to guess, he'd say it was a little before one in the morning. He knew should be asleep but in his mind words of the prophecy repeated like canon fire. _To storm or fire_… that was what troubled him the most. He sighed heavily before taking another sip of water. Jason had never been one to sleep before big battles. Usually he kept awake by running the battle strategies over in his head, playing out every possible scenario, but this battle was different. He had no idea exactly what they faced and how they would strike, but most troubling of all, he couldn't picture many outcomes in which they succeeded. Still, above all these issues, there was one matter he worried about the most—Piper.

Suddenly, that one word stirred him to action and without another thought he had grabbed his glasses, thrown on a t-shirt, and was out his door.

The wood was cold beneath his bare feet but miraculously it didn't creak as he snuck down the hallway, finally stopping outside her door. He glanced nervously in each direction before finally lightly rapping the door with his knuckles. A few seconds passed in terrifying silence, as Jason feared Buford the Wonder Table would catch him at any moment but just before his nerves had gotten the best of him, the door slowly opened.

"J-Jason?" a delicate voice asked as Piper rubbed the tiredness from one eye.

Without missing a beat, Jason clasped both hands around her face and pulled her into him, their lips meeting. After another second, their faces backed away slowly, the kiss lingering on his lips.

"Where did that come from Sparky?" she asked quietly through a wide grin.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," he said honestly. A nervous pang rang through his stomach as he realized just how many ship protocols they were breaking, but it was nothing compared to the fluttering in his chest.

"Well…do you…want to come in?" she asked as if unsure of how to play it all, taking a step back.

"Yeah, absolutely. I don't know how many pushups I could do if that hologram of Coach Hedge caught me," he smiled. As he walked in, Piper closed the door behind him.

Piper crossed her small room and sat crosslegged on her bed, inviting Jason to sit next to her. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared at his girlfriend. She was rubbing her hands together and stretching her fingers. It was enough to make Jason feel sick. He wasn't the best at reading emotions—especially those of girls, but it was obvious she was nervous. _Of course she is you idiot!_ A voice in his head shouted. _You've never done anything like this before. You barely break the rules anyway, especially for a romantic gesture. No wonder she's uneasy you big dolt!_ Jason's jawline firmed. He was determined to not be pushed around by the voice in his head.

"So…" Piper said. It was only then that Jason realized that a few seconds had passed in silence.

"Pipes," he began, unsure of what to say. Now that he was there, he wasn't sure why he'd come in the first place. Slowly his electric eyes locked with her kaleidoscope ones and the answer became plain. She stared at him longingly, she wanted him there and all he wanted was to be with her.

"Couldn't sleep?" Piper asked. Jason shook his head. "Well it looks like I owe you because you saved me from some really bad dreams." Another second passed and Jason slowly realized why she was so nervous. Whatever nightmare she'd had, it'd been about him.

"Maybe I can replace them with some good ones," Jason said. Slowly he moved toward her and placed his hand on the small of her back, lowering her gradually until she was flat under him. Delicately, he pressed his lips to hers.

"Sneaking out late and breaking the rules… What's gotten into you Superman?" Piper smiled between a kiss. Jason pulled back and stared into her eyes, the fear that was there before had completely disappeared.

"You're not the only one who can be dangerous from time to time," he said.

"Now _that_, I can believe," she laughed. As Jason went in for another kiss she did something that surprised him—she backed her head away. "But really, I'm worried about you Jason. If I'm being completely honest, I've wanted you to sneak out with me since Percy and Annabeth went to the stables." She placed her hand on his cheek. Long fingers stroked the beginning of his jaw. "But now that I have you…something's wrong. Is it about your mom? Is it about tomorrow? Please Jason, tell me."

A flood of words rushed through his mind as he tried to figure out where to start. As praetor he'd learned to choose his words carefully, to never let someone hear what he really wanted to say. But somehow he knew this wasn't the time to be cautious. Piper could have easily charmspoken him to get him to spill everything, but in that moment there were no tricks of the mist.

"Pipes, it's not about any of those things," he began slowly. Jason slid off of her and onto his side so their heads rested level on her pillow. "It's… you Piper. I-I don't want to lose you."

It was then that Piper did the last thing he expected her to do. She rolled her eyes at him and smiled.

"I'm serious Pipes!"

"Alright Sparky," she laughed. "We've already faced giants, destroyed wind gods, and fought off hundreds of angry ghoul bachelors. Each of those times I faced mortal peril, but I got through it. Do you know why?"

"Is the reason because of some old Cherokee legend?" he teased, feeling much more relaxed.

"No!" she shoved him playfully. "It's because we did it together. Now I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow but I do know two things. I love you and whatever happens, we face it together…all of us."

Jason should have thought of that. Too often he had been shoved into the spotlight and told to lead. Sure, as a leader it meant you were in charge of a lot of people, but it was also lonely and terrifying. This was different. He wasn't just a leader in the team of seven; he was a part of it and could allow himself to hold emotional attachments to those around him. His chest warmed as his heart quickened. Jason reached out a hand and stroked Piper's cheek, pulling a few strands of hair back behind her ear.

"Together," Jason agreed.

"So, now that you got your pep talk, I guess you've got to get back to your room or else we'll be getting yelled at by a piece of furniture all night," she sighed.

Jason's head told him that she was right and he should get back to his cabin, yet something in his heart told him that he was exactly where he needed to be.

"I'm not going anywhere Pipes. Especially not tonight."


End file.
